Evidence That Gentrification is Overrated

A recent article in Better Cities points out that while some transit-heavy neighborhoods in Chicago became more expensive (especially those on Chicago's north side) "transit sheds" in Chicago's south and west shed actually lost value relative to the region as a whole. In other words, rich intown neighborhoods are getting pricier, but poor ones are actually losing value.

This is relevant to the debate about gentrification. One common concern is that gentrification is driving poor people into suburbia, as they are priced out of urban neighborhoods. But, at least in Chicago, poor urban neighborhoods are actually getting cheaper- at least relative to the region as a whole.

What about other cities? The Better Cities article is based on this report; however, I am not as familiar with the other cities discussed in the report as I am with Chicago. I leave it to you, dear readers, to look at the original report and see if Chicago is typical.